Four foreign nationals accused of a cashpoint tampering scam on Teesside have been committed to crown court.

The men - two claiming to be Italians, a Latvian and a Romanian - made a further appearance before Teesside Magistrates' Court yesterday.

They were originally charged with going equipped for theft after they were spotted allegedly tampering with a cash machine.

They are alleged to have had articles for use in the course of, or in connection with, theft, namely cloned credit cards and a cashpoint template.

But the four have now been charged with conspiracy to steal.

In the dock were Carlo Canavaro, 23, of Gresham Road, Middlesbrough, and Bartolomeo Cinieri, 22, of no fixed abode, who claim to be Italian; Latvian Jurijs Markevics, 27, of Stockwell, London; and Romanian Raducu Munteanu, 19, of Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Three different interpreters, speaking Italian, Russian and Romanian, were required for the hearing.

All four men were remanded in custody after their cases were committed to Teesside Crown Court. They are due before the crown court next Tuesday.